Greetings from the Grave
by Jimmy the Gothic Egg
Summary: Lily pays Snape a visit. Major spoilers for Deathly Hallows.


Major, **major** Deathly Hallows spoilers. Avert eyes if necessary.

_Greetings from the Grave_

Snape awoke and, for decency's sake, he was not naked. He wasn't completely sure where he was, but it looked like Hogwarts. For a second, he though he might've made it (after all, there were so many cures for snake venom, and he was a potions teacher) but no, of course not. Nagini's venom caused no amount of pain, except for the certain realization that you had about five minutes before the snake had its way with you, or that it was definitely blood staining your robes, probably your own. But, being dead, he realized he couldn't actually feel anything. Anger, sadness, happiness, they were all reactions in the brain. He didn't even have a working brain anymore.

Death was funny like that.

"Oh, there you are, Severus."

Despite the lack of nerve endings, Snape felt some sort of emotion cocktails spring up at hearing her voice. He turned slowly, trying to remain passive. Lily was standing in front of him, dressed in her school robes, smiling just a little. He glanced down and realized he was wearing his own uniform. This felt slightly more awkward, and he decided to focus on finding words, which was harder than he'd thought. Expressing himself had never been the easiest thing, and now he would look like a complete idiot if he spoke up.

Lily sat down, still smiling. "You're dead."

"Oh, yes, well that bit came to me," he said and looked around. "Are we in the potions room?"

She shrugged. "It's kind of hard to explain."

"Why are you here?"

She shrugged and bit her lip. "You died. I wanted to say hello." There was a pause, and she confessed, "I've been, er, watching."

Snape said nothing but sat down, waiting for her to explain.

"Not you specifically," she went on. "Harry. I wanted to stay close, make sure I was really protecting him. I was surprised to see you. You never struck me as the teaching type."

He kept his silence, and she looked disappointed.

"Anyway, while I was watching Harry, I spied on you… a little." She touched his hand carefully, in case he pulled away. "You did a lot."

He felt a strong urge to change the subject. "Can you do that?"

"It's somewhat curious. Things you wish to get done are done, more or less. It's being dead, I guess."

It didn't explain a lot. "So why are you here?"

"You called to me when you died," she said quietly. "I was the last thing you wanted to remember. It's sweet, really." Her smile was back, and he shifted uncomfortably. "And what you did for Harry."

"I didn't do anything for him," he said, in case she decided to peg him as someone who liked to play puppet for the bettering of the wizarding world.

"I admit it wasn't all that altruistic in nature, but it was still nice that you tried."

Snape sneered. It didn't help that she giggled in response.

"I wanted to say thank you," she finished. "And I forgive you."

He did a double-take. "You're serious?"

She frowned. "Well, it might've taken some time…"

"Me dying?"

She looked straight at him, in case he was doubtful. "I forgave you long before that. I just couldn't tell you. It's sort of the point of being dead."

He grunted and scowled some more.

"My patronus, though," she thought aloud, gauging his reaction. "I had no idea."

He might've sputtered if he were someone else. "It wasn't—"

"But it was," she said with a bit of laughter. "It was surprising. I'm flattered."

"I'd never admit to flattering you."

"No, you wouldn't." She stared off into the distance. "I am sorry that I stopped talking to you, even if you deserved it. And don't apologize again. I already told you I'd forgiven you."

They sat in silence for a moment. Only Lily could compel Snape to make small talk, and he was curious anyway.

"I suppose Potter is around here somewhere," he said with forced nonchalance.

Lily frowned. "No, actually, and I'm 'Potter' now, so stop it. I should be off anyway."

He stood suddenly. Of course he couldn't let her leave. He hadn't seen her since they'd left Hogwarts, and now she was going.

She paused and laughed, hugging him gently. "I'll visit of course. And don't worry, eternity passes quickly, especially with company." She kissed him softly on the cheek. "Maybe you'll even come say hello."

He didn't protest, mostly out of shock. Lily waved goodbye and walked from the classroom. Snape sat back down and placed his head in his hands. Somehow he felt very tired, and he did have an eternity to spend here. Maybe sometime he could stop by and say hello.


End file.
